All:
Here's the news draggind down INTC today:
DJ SoundView Cuts Intel 2Q EPS Cites Motherboard Build Rates
By Donna Fuscaldo
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)SoundView Technologies Group analyst Scott Randall trimmed his secondquarter earnings estimate on chip giant Intel Corp. (INTC), citing weakerthanexpected motherboard build rates.
In a research report issued Wednesday, Randall, who maintained his buy rating on shares of Intel, now expects the Santa Clara, Calif., company to post secondquarter earnings of 13 cents a share , a penny lower than his previous estimate.
Analysts, according to Thomson Financial/First Call, expect Intel to weigh in with earnings of 15 cents a share for the second quarter.
As for Intel's first quarter, which the company will report April 16, Randall maintained his 14 cent a share estimate.
According to the analyst, motherboard build rates are coming in lower than expected in March, due in part to Intel's plans to launch new chipsets in the next several months. "We believe that Intel's chipset roadmap could, on the margin, cause build rates to be a bit weaker than normal as mother board makers try and judge the mix of products to build," wrote the analyst.
Still Randall noted that Intel's plan to launch new chipsets hasn't caused consumers and corporations to delay purchases of computers, as investors have feared.
"Although Intel's unpublished chipset roadmap offers a variety of important integration and performance features, in our view they are not significant enough to drive a change in PC buying behavior from mainstream, PC customers," he said.
Randall noted that Intel's stock is "more attractive" in the mid$20 range.
Shares of Intel were recently trading down 2.4%, or 74 cents, to $30.05 on volume of 10.5 million shares. Average daily volume is 48.1 million shares.
Officials at Intel weren't immediately available for comment.
By Donna Fuscaldo, Dow Jones Newswires; 2019385253; donna.fuscaldo@dowjones.com
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 032702 |
